Melting Statues: North Blue Journeys
by Gambit508
Summary: Caulfeld Alex is a man with a dark past and a complicated present, seeking adventure and other treasures of the sea. To this gain, he sets out to form a crew of people skilled at their jobs as they prepare to face the Grand Line.


**Welcome to North Blue Journeys, the first book in the Melting Statues pirate journey version...I've lost count. Now, for a few disclaimers. A. I obviously don't own One Piece, B. This is part of the COTA verse, if you're unfamiliar with it...well I don't blame you. None of us have updated in over a year save Malchior The Draco. I have links to the various fics in a community on my blog., and C. I don't actually have a C.**

**I'll also like to thank my friends for being supportive of my stupid ass, namely kilnorc, Malchior the Draco, the Dude of Doom, Gale The Forgotten and all the others I missed! Thanks guys!**

**Now, enjoy the show...fic...thing.**

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**The Clayman Cometh**

There was some humour to the fact that he would die so soon after his journey began, Caulfeld Alex thought as his small ship floated across the endless plane that was the ocean. The man cast a weary gaze out into the distance, the thick fog preventing him from seeing anything. With a sigh, he ran a gloved hand through his short black hair and laid back, the wood creaking as he made himself comfortable. He had planned poorly, he knew that much. Unfortunately he had misjudged the distance between his starting location and the nearest island, some small mining place known as Wilos. The soft lapping of the waves rocked the boat slowly, causing Alex's body to feel the weariness brought about by a couple days of sailing without food or water. His eyes closed slowly as he started, opening them wide, only for them to close again for good.

"Oi, you okay kid?"

Alex wearily opened his eyes as he stretched his aching body and glanced up at the face that looked to be carved out of stone. The speaker was an aged man, time having weathered his skin and stolen most of his hair. The few strands that clung to his liver spotted skull waved in the wind as the old man gestured at Alex's boat which was bumping up against a dock that was just as weathered as the man. Alex rose slowly, trying to keep his footing. "Uh, yeah I think so...how did I get here?" Alex asked, looking around. It was a small dock, the largest ship there was a tiny merchant ship used to travel between the local islands in the North Blue. In the distance, he could spy a series of buildings that he assumed to be a town.

"On your boat, I assume" The old man answered as Alex raised an eyebrow and shot a glare. "Alright, alright. Keep your pants on. You probably floated here in the fog last night. It was a thick one, that's for sure. Couldn't see five feet out to sea, no sirree. Why, it reminds me of the fog of 1479, now that was a fog. You wouldn't have been born yet obviously but I was, and let me tell you..." Alex ignored the rest of the man's ramblings as he climbed onto the dock, brushing off dust from the dark brown coat he wore over a green button-up shirt. He started toward town when the man paused in his reminiscing and held up a hand. "Oi, can't even let an old man reminisce about the good ol' days. Man, pirates have sure lost their manners."

Alex paused in his walking as he glanced back at the old man. "What makes you think I'm a pirate?" He was, after all, but the old man couldn't know that. Unless they got bounty posters out here? He didn't think it would've, it's not like he had a large bounty. Plus all he did was escape some no-name Marine mooks. They had rescued him from the island he was stranded on and due to his heritage, they decided to turn him over to some Captain Silon or Seamon or Soron or something like. Some freaky fish guy, he knew that. Not that he had anything against fishmen. Some of his best friends were fishmen. Wait, that's what you say when you actually are racist, Alex thought. And I'm pretty sure I don't actually know any fishmen anyway.

As this all went through his head, Alex didn't realize the old man was laughing a snaggletoothed laugh. "Don't worry about it kid, I just assume anybody travelling these waters nowadays are pirates. Especially alone. If you were a Marine, you'd have more people with ya and if you were a merchant, you'd have a larger ship to carry your cargo. You're too ill-equipped to be a mercenary and we have no reasons for revolutionaries or assassins to show up" The old man rubbed his chin, "You could be a treasure hunter"

Alex chuckled this time, "Aren't treasure hunters just pirates who are too nice to steal?. Eh, old man?" Somewhere an ocean away, a large man wielding an axe sneezed, drawing a glare from the blonde swordsmen next to him.

"Oi, quit with that old man stuff. I have a name, my name is Borus Oscar Bruce. My friends call me Bob." Bob reached out an arthritic hand for Alex to shake.

Alex glanced at the hand skeptically before accepting it, "Nice to meet you...Bob. So what is this place anyway?"

"The dock"

A sigh escaped Alex's lips as he gestured towards the town. "The island, what is the island called."

"Ahhhhh" Bob grinned as he turned towards the town with a stumbling lurch. "That my friend is the crystal town of the North, Wilos Island." Alex grinned, so he made it after all. That was good to know. He would need to pick up some supplies here, and probably a crewmember, but first he needed to take care of a need of the utmost urgency. A necessity that no pirate could go without. Something that everyone who made his living on the sea made sure to always have.

Alex turned to Bob as he nodded towards the town, "So Bob...where's the bar?"

Alex whistled as he strolled through the town, watching the various people go about their day. The local merchants tried to interest him in the various wares they had to sell, which seemed to mostly consist of mangoes for some reason. He ignored them, though even he had to admit that some of the mangoes looked tasty. However, the town as a whole was unimpressive, the kind of no-name small towns that littered the Blues. The road his boots covered was dirt, causing a fine layer of dust to cover everybody who walked through up to the ankle. The buildings were of various shades of green but besides that nothing unique, simple one-story places big enough for maybe one or two rooms. If it wasn't for the fact that he needed to supply, he could probably skip it entirely. His father definitely wouldn't come to an island like this.

Of course, his father was currently a water-logged corpse in the bottom of the Grand Line. No, Alex paused in his thoughts, he died 14 years ago, he would be dust. His father was dust at the bottom of the Grand Line. Well actually considering ocean's currents, he might be somewhere else... Alex continued walking, discussing the possible current location of his father's remains as he caught a glimmer of movement outside the corner of his eye. Sighing, Alex stopped walking, putting his hands on his hips. "Look, if you're going to keep following me, then do it out in the open." Nobody revealed themselves. "Alright, if you want to do it that way. I'm gonna head into this bar here" Alex gestured at the olive-colored building in front of him, "And if you want to continue this game of cat and mouse, then follow me in there. If not, then go on your way and go piss on a rat or whatever you guys do. Creepy stalker" Alex muttered the last two words under his breath as he turned toward the bar and pushed open the red wooden door.

The bar was relatively empty which was expected given the time of day, which may have explained why it looked so clean to Alex's eyes. Yes, the off-white walls were cracked in places and the paint peeled all over like a blotchy patch of skin, but the dusty tiles weren't covered with vomit and blood and the air didn't have the lingering taste of smoke and body odor as most were wont to do. The bartender, a wiry man who made up for the lack of hair on the top of his head with an impressive mustache that curled away from his nostrils towards the top of his cheeks, looked up from cleaning a glass as Alex walked in before shrugging and setting glass and towel down. "You gonna order anything or are ya just admiring the ambience?" He asked, his voice thick with drawl, as Alex grinned despite himself. The man did have a point, bars aren't exactly known for getting the cover page of "Best Interiors Of The Grand Line And Four Blues".

Well, except for Issue #456 in 1518 which features the golden plated bar of King Cloott of the Horeel Kingdom in the South Blue.

Alex sat down at the bar, climbing up onto the closest stool to the door as he glanced at the bartender. "I'll take whatever you have that's the strongest, mate"

"We got beer and..." the bartender glanced at the wall of bottles behind him, "beer."

Alex chuckled, "Such a choice there. I suppose I'll take beer then." The bartender poured out the dark liquid into a glass and passed it towards Alex as he accepted the coins Alex laid on the bar. "Thanks for that." he said as he took a swig. It wasn't the worse tasting beer he had tasted but he had definitely tasted better. He wasn't going to comment on the taste, of course. For one he doubt the bartender cared. He was probably too busy doing something like...yeah, he was combing his mustache.

It was at that point that the door slammed open. The wood smacked against the wall, leaving another blotch of chipped paint in the crater caused by the door knob. Alex rose from his seat as the bartender screamed and threw his comb toward the door before hiding behind the bar. The comb went flying as it flew into some distant corner, completely missing the door. Alex shot a look back at the bartender and with a shake of his head dismissed him. Turning back towards the door, the intruder revealed himself. Now there are some people who, when you see them, you know they mean business. The kind of person with tattoos of their various lovers on their arms and the skulls of their enemies hanging from the belt they made of Sea King skin who swordfights with their fingers and cuts their hair with a cannon.

This was not that person. The intruder was a short chubby guy with a thick horseshoe mustache of the same orange color of the mohawk that graced his skull, he had a beady green gaze that locked onto Alex with a delirious glee. He work dark red pants and a light blue shirt, with green gloves that grasped the blade that proved his weapon. The blade with chipped and had seen better days. "I am the bounty hunter, Dareo! I have come to collect your head, Potter Lord! That 13 million is mine!"

Alex winced as he scratched the inside of his ear with his finger, "Well you're well on the way to collecting my eardrums. How do you even know I'm the Potter Lord anyway? I've given no indication that I am this man that you seek."

"You have your flag on the back of your jacket." Dareo gestured with his sword as Alex sighed. He had forgot he had done that as a way to mark himself. He had hoped to get through this without a pointless battle, but alas that was not meant to be. "Also there's bounty posters right there". Alex turned to the wall where, indeed, a number of posters hung.

_**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**_

_**"Axe"**_

_**Reward: 265,000,000**_

_**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**_

_**"Potter Lord" Caulfeld Alex**_

_**Reward: 13,000,000**_

_**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**_

_**Malchior "The Draco" D. Raco**_

_**Reward: 17,000,000**_

_**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**_

_**Nativa "The Grim" Elsa**_

_**Reward: 4,000,000**_

_**WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE**_

_**Conner Athto "M.A.C." Melcom**_

_**Reward: 6,000,000**_

"Huh, figured I would've noticed those before" Alex glanced at his own grinning visage as he walked towards Dareo. The pic was at least five years old by this point but at least it was an update from the bounty he got during his cabin boy days. The rest of the pictures weren't anything special. Axe was some blood-soaked maniac, probably some serial killer with no care for human life. Draco was just some swordsman, nothing that special, though something about him made Alex want to punch his face in. Elsa could probably seem attractive as some, but Alex didn't see it, just your conventional beauty, nothing special. As for Melcom? Well he just looked like a chubby kid in over his head with goofy goggles.

"Bite of Apes!" Dareo shouted as he leapt towards Alex, swinging his blade erratically. Alex quickly sidestepped it as he aimed a kick at Dareo's midsection, sending the mohawked swordsmen flying into the bar. Dareo slammed into the wood, dazed before turning towards Alex with a fierce glare. "Leap Of Swans!" Dareo shouted as he leapt into what Alex assumed was meant to be graceful and thrust his sword downward, piercing Alex's shoulder. "Ha!" Dareo cried out as he landed, pulling the sword out with a violent wrench.

A hole in shoulder stayed for a few seconds before it started to fill in with a thick light tan substance as Alex shook his head, his right arm morphing into the same substance. "My dear Dareo, didn't anybody tell you why I was called Potter Lord?" Lifting his arm up as it morphed into something similar to a cannon, Alex grinned wide as he aimed his new cannon arm at Dareo who glanced at it with growing dread. "I ate the Nendo Nendo No Mi or Clay Clay Fruit, I am a clay man. Which means your poor attempts at swordplay won't intimidate me. I mean, are you kidding me? I've been doing this since I was a kid playing cabin boy on my dad's ship. You ever see the Grand Line? Witness a Sea King swarm? Face down a Marine battleship?" Dareo shook his head as his realization at his mistake grew, "Yeah, well technically I didn't do that last one, I was just on a ship that did but the point still stands! Take this! Nendo Shotto!" A blast of clay flew out from his arm-cannon, slamming into Dareo's face.

The bounty hunter flew off his feet, flying through the air as he slammed into the opposite wall of the bar. The wall cracked more before finally giving way as Dareo finally landed in the alley, unconscious. Alex formed his hand back into normal as he glanced at the bartender peaking over his bar, mustache still intact. "I'll pay for that wall...later" Alex grimaced as he looked back at the giant hole now in the bar. "Alright, Mr. Mustachioed Bartender Man or whatever your name is..."

"My name is Kelnero Lipharoj" the bartender replied.

"Right, right..." Alex said, waving his hand dismissively. "As you've probably gathered I'm a pirate."

"No, I didn't notice at all." Lipharoj deadpanned as he walked across the room to retrieve his comb. "What does that have to do with me anyway? I'm not made for sea travel so I wouldn't join your crew."

Alex rolled his eyes. As if he had this vain coward on his crew, he'd probably die as soon as he saw a single Marine ship. Hell, he would probably piss himself if he faced against that guy on Montero Island...

Siamon! That was the freaky fish guy's name!

Glad that was solved, Alex looked at the man. "No worries there, mate. I just need to know where I can pick up a ship. I mean if you had any kind of fighters or whatever, then I suppose I could check them out."

The bartender laughed, "Yeah, I can see why you'd think we wouldn't have much. Well we don't have any shipyards but you might want to check out Master Foron's place out on the other side of the island. He's a swordsmen, got a training yard and everything."

"A swordsmen, huh?" Alex glanced at Dareo's body. "He was a swordsman."

"Completely unrelated" Lipharoj explained, "Foron uses a more distinct style. More graceful and fast-moving, he's actually pretty fearsome in battle." Alex pursed his lips, graceful and fast-moving were important qualities for a swordsman depending on the kind of blade used. Plus if this Foron trained others then he must know a lot about the art. Course he doubted Foron would leave, but perhaps one of his students? He would have to check this place out.

-On The Other Side Of The Island-

"Fast feet! Fast feet! Keep moving! You are supposed to be like the wind, not the stone! Stop holding it two-handed, this is not a meat cleaver!" Foron shouted as he walked around his small training area, viewing his students. He was a tall thin man with a face like a hawk and hair like a bush. He wore simple canvas clothing and a thin wooden blade hung from his belt. This batch were mostly novices but he paid that no mind. They had the skills in them, he knew. It would take time, but perhaps if they had a demonstration of the proper technique. "Adler Claire, come here" Foron called to the blonde girl practicing to the side. She was an old student, preferring to stay here and master the art herself.

Claire wore her long blonde hair tied back in twin ponytails, and wore a mostly yellow outfit of pants and vest over a white shirt, the only other colors being her tattered red scarf and blue shoes. She held her blade, a thin rapier with a rose guard hilt to her side, gripped tightly. "You called, sir? How may I assist you?"

Foron gestured at the novices, "I wish to demonstrate proper form to these greenhorns, would you join me?" He said as he brought his blade in front of his face in a salute to Claire. Claire did the same as both nodded at each other. "We will fight to three point, is that clear Claire?'

"Of course, sir." Claire replied with a small smile as her eyes wandered to her left, "Hey! Look a bird!" she said, gesturing with her free hand at what was indeed a bird.

"Claire...focus.." Foron sighed, Claire was a brilliant student but she had a tendency to...get distracted. Hopefully that wouldn't prove fatal for her later in life. Claire composed herself again as the two rapier users brought their blades back before rushing forward, their blades echoing off into the distance as they clashed.

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**And there we are! The first chapter is done! I tried ****to keep it pretty close to the way the anime started with a view differences due to the fact that Alex isn't the type to get trapped in a barrel. Don't worry, you'll see more of Claire and Foron next time. Which reminds me, it is preview time!**

**ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF NORTH BLUE JOURNEYS!**

**Alex: So you're the famed Foron that I've heard so much about**

**Claire: I'm sorry but this island needs protection more than your crew needs a member**

**Foron: This island has a lot more importance than you might think**

**Alex: Wow, I didn't think you'd be hiding something like this.**

**Skilled With Pen And Sword**

**Claire: That scream! It came from inside the cave.**


End file.
